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First time build up for review

K

Kagenmi

Junior Member
1. What YOUR PC will be used for.
Gaming, photo editing & art, and general use.

2. What YOUR budget is.
$1,400 total (including Monitor + OS) $1000 for PC only

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
USA

4. IF you're buying parts OUTSIDE the US, please post a link to the vendor you'll be buying from.
n/a

5. IF YOU have a brand preference.
Prefer Intel CPU, but not a strong preference.

6. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
Monitor has been decided. Shimian QH270-Lite

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
No overclocking initially. Possibly in future, at which time I'd add more fans.

8. What resolution, not monitor size, will you be using?
2560x1440

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
This week

X. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software?
Already purchased Win7 for $50.


i5 3570K $215 (not via NewEgg)
ASRock Z77 Pro4 $100 (promo)
Kingston DDR3 1600 8GB $30, sold out 🙁 buying elsewhere
Sapphire HD 7970 3GB $360 AR
Kingston V+200 120GB $90, sold out 🙁 buying elsewhere
Seagate 1TB HDD $60 (promo)
Lite-ON DVD Burner $18
Rosewill Green Series 630W $42.50 AR + promo
Corsair Carbide 300R $50 AR + promo

First time builder, so please forgive any ignorance. I used mfenn's guide as a base and modified from there. Came up with this build early this morning, but since then a few items have sold out. I can get them elsewhere and probably still stay around $1000 for parts. Will probably take advantage of the double cashback Discover day on Dec 22. Doubtful I'd save much/any more in post-Christmas sales.

Total budget includes monitor and operating system. Got Win7 for $50 and have decided on the Shimian QH270-Lite for monitor ($335), which leaves about $1000 for the computer.

There are some things I am unsure about. The monitor only has a DVI port, which is why I am considering the ASRock Z77 Pro4 over the cheaper Pro3. However, I understand I could connect the monitor to the GPU instead which would make the DVI-lacking Pro3 an option? Is this advisable? Are there benefits to connecting to the MB such as drawing on integrated graphics from the CPU when full GPU power isn't needed?

Also feeling mixed on the PSU. I don't want to be cheap in this area, but despite the price the Rosewill looks solid and their reputation is good. I'm not sure if a single PCI-E connection is an issue? It seems my options for $20-30 more (for same power) would be a longer warranty and 5% more energy efficiency, but I have to plead ignorance on the long term cost-savings there.
 
Got microcenter nearby?

I would want sli/crossfire compatibility for that res. I have a single 7950 @ 1.1ghz and it's great for 1080p but would probably leave me wanting for more on 1440p.

CPU - Good $215
Mobo - Z77 Extreme3 $110 is better and supports pcie 3.0 x8/x8
RAM - Two of these $40
GPU - Good $360 AR
SSD - Intel 330 180GB $120 (act fast)
HDD - Good $60 AP
DVD - Good $18
PSU - XFX 750W $65 AR, 4x pcie
Case: Good $50 AR AP

= $1038 and supports another 7970

If that's too much, wait for a better SSD deal i.e. a good 120GB drive for $80-90
 
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In answer to your questions, the psu has two, not one, PCIe power connectors, so you're fine there. What it does not include is a power cord, which is the only thing that makes it "green".

The monitor should be connected directly to the GPU. While in theory you can run the discrete GPU through the motherboard's output, it leads to serious overhead and performance loss, which is not what you want with that level of GPU.

For memory, buy two Samsung DDR3 1600 sticks for $15.50 a piece at Amazon. Way better than what you picked.

As for the SSD, buy the 128GB Crucial M4 if you don't find anything else.
 
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Wow, I completely missed the lack of a power cord. I could buy that separate, but I'm getting the impression that there are other reasons to pick something else altogether. I'll keep looking. If nothing else, the 650W from Rosewill comes recommended by Anandtech (and has a cord, lol).

Thank you for explaining the monitor connection. I was getting conflicting info elsewhere. I'll be fine to switch the Z77 Pro4 for the Pro3 then which will save some money to get a different PSU.

Will definitely get a couple sticks of that Samsung RAM. Appreciate it!
 
There's a nice build from lehtv and some good advice from Termie in this thread.

The question that immediately comes to mind when I see a dual-GPU recommendation is: what types of games does the OP play? If he's really into shooters at max detail and 60 FPS, then yes a dual-GPU capable setup makes sense. If he's more into RTS or RPG games that aren't as graphically intensive and/or don't need to be run at 60 FPS, then a single card setup (including mobo and PSU) is fine.
 
Sorry for a delayed response. I noticed that you edited your post, lehtv, and I went to reply to it but then my power cut out. It was down for 15 hours before they repaired the lines. Thanks for the recommendations. I did go with the XFX 750W PSU. Nice price and rebate there.

Found an acceptable price on the Crucial M4, and of course went with the Samsung RAM.

I prefer to stick with one card. I'm not too concerned with maxing out the most detailed games. I play a wide variety including MMOs and some lesser demanding titles. Shooters are only occasional. I can probably scale back the res to 1080 via the GPU if a situation calls for it, but I'll likely just lower a few settings. Photoshop work was a larger deciding factor than gaming for the 1440 res. I spend several hours or more in it daily.

Parts came to $987, assuming I get all the rebates back. Should be $918 after Discover double cashback is rewarded. Roughly $1,300 for total build with monitor and OS.

i5 3570K $212
Z77 Pro3 $85
DDR3 8GB $32
7970 $360
128GB M4 $105
1TB HDD $60
DVD $18
750W $65
Case $50

Much thanks and respect to all. 🙂
 
Sorry - I know thread is closed, but why do people ask if he has a Microcenter nearby? I have one nearby and I will be getting a very similar build.
 
jordanpr said:
Sorry - I know thread is closed, but why do people ask if he has a Microcenter nearby? I have one nearby and I will be getting a very similar build.
Click to expand...

They sell i5-3570K for $20-30 less than anywhere else, and any Z77 motherboard gets $40 off when combined with it. It's possible to get an i5-3570K and a basic MSI Z77 board for $215 after rebate, same as what you'd pay for the CPU alone on newegg.

You can also find other CPU's at a lowered price but they lack the motherboard discount.

@ Kagenmi

Nice build but the 750W PSU wasn't really needed since you decided to stick with single GPU by limiting your motherboard to single PCie 3.0 x16. An XFX 550W at $40 AR would've done. That would've nearly bought you a Hyper 212 Evo for the CPU.
 
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